Apple and Samsung settlement talks fail ahead of March trial

In a final effort to avoid a second Apple/Samsung trial, Judge Lucy Koh last January ordered that Tim Cook, along with three to four members of Apple's in-house legal team, meet with Samsung executives in an effort to hammer out a settlement agreement.

As initially planned, the aforementioned meeting of the minds was scheduled to go down on February 19. Now comes word via ZDNet Korea that the meeting actually took place last week where, surprise surprise, the two companies were unable to come to terms.

Top executives of Samsung Electronics and Apple met last week in the US for a possible settlement in their ongoing legal battle but failed to reach an agreement, ZDNet Korea has learned.

Local sources say JK Shin, head of Samsung's mobile division, and Apple CEO Tim Cook met in the US.

While some assumed that Apple's victory in the first trial might have allowed them to put the squeeze on Samsung, it looks like the whole gang, including Phil Schiller and potentially Scott Forstall, will be headed back to court in just a few weeks.